For most people, pot brownies is their first foray into the magical world of marijuana edibles. Made with cannabutter or oil, these brownies offer an alternative to smoking and still allow you to enjoy the psychoactive effects of marijuana.

They go by many names – space cakes, special brownies, hash brownies, green blondies to name a few – but pot brownies really didn’t receive any mainstream media attention until the 1950s.

So, who’s responsible for the creation of weed brownies? The answer might surprise you.

Alice B. Toklas

Alice B. Toklas wasn’t your average American woman. She was a member of the Parisian avant-garde during the early part of the 20th century, and also happened to be the partner of writer/poet Gertrude Stein. Most people know her as the namesake for the first LGBT democratic club in the United States.

When Alice’s beloved partner Gertrude died in 1946, she left most of her art collection and estate to Alice. Because their relationship wasn’t legally recognized, the family took possession of the collection and the estate, leaving Alice with nothing. This is when Alice write The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook. This cookbook included memories and stories from their lives, but it also included some eclectic recipes – one of which was called Haschich Fudge. Now, the recipe wasn’t written by Alice herself, but by a friend named Brion Gysin.

Naturally, the American publisher of the book, Harpers, panicked over the inclusion of the recipe and had it promptly removed from books printed in the U.S. Nevertheless, the recipe caused quite a bit of controversy and would make the book one of the bestselling cookbooks of the 1950’s. Toklas’s recipe introduced an entire American generation to the world of marijuana edibles.

Truth be told, the original recipe for “pot brownies” didn’t actually resemble anything remotely close to a brownie. Thankfully, modern day bakers and weed brownie connoisseurs have done all of the hard work for you and shared their own recipes for the famous marijuana brownie.

A Word About Cannabutter and Oil

Before we get into the actual recipe, let’s first take a minute to talk about baking with weed. The THC in pot (the compound that gives weed its psychoactive effects) needs to first be extracted either into a butter or oil mixture before it can be baked. Otherwise, it won’t have the same effect. If you want your brownies to have a “cosmic” effect, you need to bake them with either cannabutter (a.k.a. marijuana butter) or THC oil.

How to Make Pot Brownies

There are a few different ways to make pot brownies, and the method you choose will really depend on how much time and effort you want to put into them. Some people take the easy route by just buying a box of brownie mix and using the butter with cannabutter or THC oil as a substitute for regular oil. Others prefer to make their brownies from scratch.
We’ve included a basic homemade recipe.

Pot Brownies

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 5 oz. chocolate
• 3 tbsp. THC oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tbsp. applesauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. corn syrup

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Place a double boiler over high heat to bring the water to a boil, and then lower heat to a simmer.
4. Add the THC oil and chocolate to the boiler and whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
5. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, applesauce and brown sugar.
6. Add vanilla and egg whites. Beat the mixture until smooth.
7. Stir in flour.
8. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan.
9. Bake for 18-23 minutes, or until the top center is firm to the touch.

THC Oil

Ingredients
• 6 cups of canola oil
• 1 oz. cannabis buds, finely ground

Equipment
• Cheesecloth
• Fine mesh strainer

Directions

1. Slowly heat oil on low heat in a double boiler for a few minutes. You should smell the oil’s aroma.
2. Add the cannabis slowly. Stir to incorporate, ensuring that all of the cannabis is incorporated into the mix.
3. Simmer for 45 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool before straining.
5. Strain the oil by placing a cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer. Press the cannabis with the back of a spoon to extract all of the oil.

The oil will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two months.

Of course, you can also modify a simple boxed brownie recipe and substitute in marijuana butter or THC oil. No matter whether you’re making boxed or homemade pot brownies, make sure that you consume them responsibly. Just one (at most two) pieces is more than enough to get the effect you want.